Singed up right after the announcement and can’t wait. Fished the AIM Championship as a Co-Angler in 2010 on Winnie to see how CRR worked, loved the format and have been hoping AIM would come to Mille Lacs ever since! Looks like the weekend series has been a great success after the first two events. Great job to all those involved and thanks for pulling it all together.
Best of Fishing,
Shawn Flemming 
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Yeah, that fog was nuts. What was more nuts, if you ask me, were the guys out there driving nearly full-throttle with near zero visibility. Worst part was you could hear them coming, knew they’d be close, but couldn’t see them.
Yes…too foggy for my liking…no fish is worth getting run over. I didn’t go out until 3pm (went up to Farm Island for a few hours which was slow). If a guy was to go out in that stuff, trolling speeds definitely had to be in order.
Donation sent. Thanks for all you’re doing Steve!
Nice work Dan! Great report.
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Here is one I got a couple weeks ago. This is by far the thickest ice walleye I have seen come out of mille lacs. This one came from the top edge of a mud flat.
Anyone else have any pics of XXL ice walleyes? Lets see em.
Wow! That is a fatty!!! Although not as girthy, I got this one a couple weeks ago which was really thick. Almost all the fish I’ve iced this year have looked very healthy. I’ve been on mud the times I’ve been out as well.
Shawn Flemming
I’ve tested just about every line out there and found Seaguar Red Label Fluro to be the most durable. 15 lb for harnesses and the same line in 6 lb for rigs.
Best of Fishing,
Shawn Flemming
Hi BigJon,
I had the same problem once (except with Lowrance units). Turned out to just be a loose ground connection. I’d check there first. Hope that helps! 
Shawn Flemming
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Nice fish Shawn. Thanks for the piece and insight on what worked for you on the 5th. Did you catch any nice perch in the mix or all walleyes? I had also read where one of the east side guides did well in 29-30 FOW near the flats. Thanks have a good day, Steve
Hi Steve,
I didn’t catch any perch. Actually, graphing of fish was pretty slow, but most that came in bit. No slots either this time. Fish yesterday ranged from 19-25 inches.
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Thanks a lot for the help Shawn. im going to mille lacs for the first time on monday, and i have been trying to figure out the right cadence. Did you put a dropshot weight on the bare hook and minnow?
I had 2 bigger split shot weights about a foot in front of the hook. Good luck on Monday
Hi MNTwinsFreak#1
I usualy had my deadstick (plain hook and minnow) at about a foot off the bottom. I was then jigging my other rod in many cases 2-3 off the bottom when I saw a fish on the flasher. I would then raise my deadstick to the fish and caught many that way. I was using a mix of spoons in gold, silver and glow colors.
That’s a sweet idea!
Thanks for the tip Jason.
Best of Fishing,
Shawn Flemming
Hi Slab hunter,
Didn’t see your post…same offer for a test drive in my 620T/200 Verado on Mille Lacs for you or anyone else on IDO. I was a tiller guy, switched to a windshield and now after this year in the new tiller will never go back unless I move near an Ocean!
Hi Bck,
I have a 2012 Ranger 620T with a 200 HP Mercury Verado and would be happy to give you a test ride on Mille Lacs. This has been a great combo for me. If interested, shoot me a PM or an email at [email protected] and we can get it set up.
To see how AIM works, checkout the recent weigh in videos from the LOW Tournament in August.
Thanks for posting Mr. Fellegy…this would be great! I’d sign up on the Pro side in a heartbeat as I’m sure many other Mille Lacs Tournament anglers would as well to compete against the top Pro’s in the country and some big $$$.
I fished the 2010 AIM Championship on Winnie as a Co-Angler to see what the format was like and it’s awesome…especially on a slot fish lake. I thought the weigh in might be a little boring but nothing was farther from the truth. With the jumbo tron screens and production they put on, it’s very exciting and interesting.
I’d sure love to see an AIM stop on the Mille Lacs for the 2013 season! I think a guy would have to get a card full of 26’s and 27’s every day to stay in the mix. It would be a blast to have these fish count, plus returning them safely to the lake at the same time!
We added a whole line of Shallow #12 Huskey Jerks specifically for the fall trolling bite. I think some hot ones will be Purpledecsant, Purple Haze, Baby Walleye, Electric Perch, Fire Minnow, Pink Scale and Sunrise Craw.
After I get back from the Cass Lake MWC Tournament in a couple weeks, I plan to hit Mille Lacs for some night trolling from Mid September all the way to ice and will report back on what’s working in my boat.
Best of Fishing,
Shawn Flemming
Jolly Roger Tackle
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Different tiller model…
This is my first year in the 620T/200HP Verado and after 160 hours on it, I can honestly say this combo is one fine walleye fishing machine! You get the best of both worlds by quickly getting up to 50MPH, then have the precision boat control of a Swiss watch once you get to your spot. If anyone is ever interested in a test drive, shoot me a PM and I’d be happy to let you take it for a spin on Mille Lacs.
Is the Verado a 2 stroke?
Hi Joe,
The Merc Verado is a turbo charged 4 Stroke. I had the opprotunity to test drive this combo last fall, and was orignially thinking I’d go with a 175 Optimax and 620T. After seeing first hand how the Verado shoots out of the hole and gets up to 50 MPH in no time, combined with the ability to dial it down at fishing speeds, I was sold! It is also so quiet, you can have a conversation with your passenger when running wide open. For us tiller fans, it’s also great to sit by all day and not get any fumes or loud noise while backtrolling. Now after 3 solid months behind it, I wouldn’t go any other way! The Merc Big Tiller Steering System is so effortless as well that my 5 year old daughter can even steer it.
If you ever get down this way and want to take a spin, let me know
Thanks,
Thanks for your orders Corey! Just shipped today so good luck with them and thanks for supporting Jolly Roger Tackle.
Best of Fishing!
Shawn Flemming
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Different tiller model…
This is my first year in the 620T/200HP Verado and after 160 hours on it, I can honestly say this combo is one fine walleye fishing machine! You get the best of both worlds by quickly getting up to 50MPH, then have the precision boat control of a Swiss watch once you get to your spot. If anyone is ever interested in a test drive, shoot me a PM and I’d be happy to let you take it for a spin on Mille Lacs.
Awesome report Ben! Glad the spinners turned on the fish for you guys. I think you need to update your profile pic to this one!
Nice work! Congrats! That will be a heck of a mount.
Attached is a link to the latest Leech Report on the Jolly Roger Tackle webiste courtesy of Leisure Outdoor Adventures. A few days old, but perhaps could give you a starting point.
http://www.jollyrogertackle.com/category_s/89.htm
Good Luck
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Hey…I’m also hitting up Mille Lacs for the first time a couple weeks from now. I’ve been reading up on using spinning rigs based on info from this site and ordered some of the Jolly Roger rigs today…I have a sinker question. Sounds like most people are using 2oz bottom bouncers…correct? In the past I heard lindy rigs were the way to go, but I assume the bouncers work better than the walking sinkers? Any paint/pattern to the bouncers or just plain ones? I’ve never fished this way before as we don’t even have Walleye lakes down near Rochester and am looking for as much info as possible…thanks!
Hi Hoffy,
Thanks for your order! To answer your questions, I’ve got over 150 hours on my Verado this year on Mille Lacs and have only rigged for about 4 of those on opening weekend. When the fish are aggressive, I love nothing better than pulling spinners as it enables you to cover water twice as fast versus rigging. We’ve had great success with both slots and big fish doing this all year (although the slot bite is getting tougher recntly).
As for weights, I use a plain lead colored 2 OZ Bouncer 90% of the time. In my opinion, color of the weight makes no difference. Sometimes, I think it may even hurt. I’ve got a few colored bouncers, but they are in pristine condition as they’ve seldom seen the water! If it is really windy and you can’t feel the bottom, I switch to a 3 OZ bouncer.
Hope that helps. If you have any other questions shoot me a PM and I’d be happy to help,
Best of Fishing
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What kind of rods do you use with 3 or 3 oz bouncers
Hi Larson3,
I use 7 foot Fenwick HMG Medium Heavey Casting Rods and spool my reels with 10 lb Berkley XT line. I hold the rods in my hand and only put them in rod holders when netting fish. This is what has worked best for me. Many times, you’ll get a light bitter and you’ll need to sweep the rod foward (when backtrolling) to get it to bite. I’ve tried braid which alot of guys love, but for me, I stick with mono and a stiffer rod as I like to set the hook and have enjoyed an extremely high % with this method.
Hope that helps…if you have any other questions shoot me a PM.
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Any plans for some custom tail dancers???
Hi Sauger,
No plans right now for Tail Dancers, but we also have a great line of Custom Deep Down Husky Jerk 12’s (DHJ12’s) which we just added last fall and during the winter. These have been responsible for numerous hawgs all over the country as we’ve had to replenish our supplies of these many times already this season. Attached are some recent pics of some giants that fell victim to the DHJ’s. I didn’t get much time with these on Mille Lacs last year, but guys have been tearing it up with them on Green Bay and Errie so my plan this weekend is to deploy them and the Shad Raps on the Open Basin of Mille Lacs. Spinners are still going strong too though…tough decision on tactics right now!
Link to the Deep Husky’s
Hi Larsen3,
Two tactics have been really effective for me lately. #1 is pulling spinners on the mudflats with either an air injected crawler or Rainbow Chub. I usually start on the side of the flat the wind’s blowing into and do a drive by first to see what is there. If I mark good pods of fish, I drop a waypoint and then go back over them with spinners. If I don’t see good pods, I move on. Sometimes you’ll find the fish on the edges, bottoms of tops of the flats or sometimes all of the above.
I usally run the spinners behind 2 Oz bottom bouncers and try to keep the speed between .8 to 1 MPH.
We also had good success trolling the new Jolly Roger Shad Raps on leadcore as well.
Here is the link to my latest report which gives a few more details.
Good luck!
Here are some of the other patterns:
Hi Al,
Attached is a link to the Leech Lake Report Section of Jolly Roger Tackle Courtesy of Toby Kvalevog from Leisure Outdoor Adventures.
http://www.jollyrogertackle.com/category_s/89.htm
Hers’s a 30.5 incher they caught just the other day on a Jolly Roger Electric Perch Harness.
Enjoy your trip!
Best of Fishing,
Hi Fisherman J,
Around here you’re going to see more #3 and #4 blades. The smaller the #, the smaller the blade. A #3 is a little smaller than the size of quarter, then they get bigger from there.
Thanks,
Shawn Flemming
Hi Chomps,
Electric Perch has the most blue. Big Water Rainbow is kind of an Blue/Teal. Electric Perch was a protoype last summer and worked great on Mille Lacs.
Thanks,
Shawn Flemming
